Ion analyzer

Abstract

An ion analyzer that generates and analyzes product ions by irradiating precursor ions derived from a sample component with radicals, the ion analyzer including: a reaction chamber (2; 833) into which the precursor ions are introduced; a radical generation unit (5) configured to generate radicals from a first material gas; a metastable particle generation unit (5) configured to generate metastable particles from a second material gas; a radical introduction unit (5) configured to mix the radical and the metastable particles and introduce the mixture into the reaction chamber (2; 833); and an ion detection unit (4; 835) configured to detect product ions generated from the precursor ions by a reaction with the radicals.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD[0001]The present invention relates to an ion analyzer that generates and analyzes product ions by irradiating precursor ions derived from sample components with radicals.BACKGROUND ART[0002]In order to identify a polymer compound or analyze its structure, mass spectrometry is widely used in which ions derived from a polymer compound (precursor ions) are dissociated one or more times to generate product ions (also called fragment ions), and the product ions are separated according to the mass-to-charge ratio and detected. One of representative methods for dissociating ions in mass spectrometry, a collision-induced dissociation (CID) method is known in which molecules of an inert gas such as a nitrogen gas are collided with ions. Since, in the CID method, ions are dissociated by the energy given by the collision with an inert molecule, various ions can be dissociated, but selectivity of the position of dissociation, i.e. the position where ions are dissociated, is low....

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The invention is an ion analyzer that reduces the number of unwanted radicles (same as free radicals) and introduces more radicles into the reaction chamber for analysis. This is achieved by mixing radicles with metastable particles generated in a separate unit and introducing them into the reaction chamber. The metastable particles, which are in an excited state and have high internal energy, collide with the radicles and attach to the walls of the pipe or chamber during transportation. As a result, the radicles are released from the walls and introduced into the reaction chamber, leading to more effective analysis.

Problems solved by technology

CID method is unsuitable when it is necessary to dissociate ions at a specific site for a structural analysis.

But this is difficult in the CID method.

Therefore, the ETD method and the ECD method are not suitable for being combined with the MALDI method that generates many monovalent positive ions.

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